


Clumsy

by Fernon



Series: Beginnings [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Clumsy Vernon, Doctor Seungkwan, Fluff, M/M, meanie, verkwan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 15:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15367746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernon/pseuds/Fernon
Summary: Vernon is the clumsiest person on earth, and Seungkwan is his old high school crush. They meet once again, this time when Vernon visits the emergency room.





	Clumsy

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I haven't written fanfiction in a hot minute (like five or six years or something) and I got this idea because I thought about how much of a klultz Vernon can be sometimes. 
> 
> Thanks to my friend, 'Hobi' for letting me bounce ideas off her.  
> Also thanks to my other friends whom I had to ask what a waiting room in the hospital was like. 
> 
> Sorry if any of this is inaccurate to hospital situations. I've never been to the ER or anything. At most I've been to an Urgent Care because I zapped my finger on a surge protector and almost started a house fire.  
> I also apologize if any of this is formatted weird, I've never posted anything on here before. Also apologizing for any grammatical errors or spelling errors. I didn't get it proofread. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, please enjoy this!
> 
> UPDATE: I JUST figured out how you can italicize and bold things on this, so I went through and fixed that, as well as fixed a few spelling and grammatical errors.

If you looked in a dictionary next to the word clumsy, you’d see Vernon’s face. All his friends knew he was a walking disaster, and Vernon was never one to deny it. He’d broken his fair share of bones, his fingers and toes quite a few times, his arm once when he was eight, and he’d broken his nose once, although it technically wasn’t his fault. His cousin decided that tackling him when he was on a precarious rock in the little creek down behind his grandparents’ house was a smart idea. Vernon had ended up tumbling face first into the side of the river bank, and smashed his nose on a tree root. He’d also had a concussion once, that time it was his fault, though, not paying attention to where he was going and running face first into the bathroom door that had opened in front of him. Now he tried to be much more cautious, but it still didn’t always work.

He would trip over thin air, it seemed, in parking lots in the middle of the day, or he’d manage to bang his elbow on that table he just passed by, or drop the box of heavy china he was carrying on his own foot. It was a rare sight when he didn’t have a bruise on his body.

So when he found himself in the waiting room of the local ER for almost four hours with a now warm ice pack on his ankle and his best friend and roommate, Joshua, snoozing in the chair next to him, Vernon was not surprised. He’d been to at least a dozen hospitals and urgent cares in his life, and he was used to waiting times. His phone, unfortunately had died two hours ago whilst he was fueling his Candy Crush addiction, and he had gone through at least three of the health magazines on the tables in the waiting room. The current magazine Vernon was on had been finished twenty minutes ago, but Vernon couldn’t find it in himself to try and wake Josh. It was almost 1:30 in the morning and he would have to be up in another five hours for work. He looked at the table next to him and the closest one he could reach was Seventeen magazine. With a great sigh, he picked it up and started flipping through it, reading articles on celebrities and help for young women in relationships and the best parties to go to in college, and then he jumped a little when he heard someone calling his name.

“Chwe?” someone called from the doorway behind his row of chairs. It was a lighter, soft voice, slightly higher in pitch, but it was still male. For one reason or another, it sounded familiar to Vernon, but very distant.

“Josh. C’mon. I need help.” he nudged the snoring boy next to him, who startled awake, and rubbed his cat-like eyes. He mumbled something, clearly slightly annoyed that his slumber was disturbed, but stood and hooked an arm around Vernon’s shoulders and under his arms. Vernon stood, and with the help of Joshua, he hobbled around the row of chairs and towards the doorway where patients had disappeared through during the night. Vernon glanced up at the doctor who was waiting patiently in the doorway, and his eyes widened. He knew that face. Instantly, memories of a silly high school crush came flooding back to him. It was Seungkwan. The Boo Seungkwan, that he had English class with for both his junior and senior years of high school, as well as gym one year and biology the next, and took drama class with after school (Vernon only took that as an elective because he wanted to try and get to know him better), the same one that he had a big, fat, stupid crush on for two whole years of his life. Unfortunately, Seungkwan wasn’t ever really into Vernon. Nor did Vernon ever attempt to actually talk to him. Now, though, he was more than cute. His face, although still round, and squishy-looking, was more chiseled, and he was a bit taller. His hair was less flat and it was now a sandy brown color, and a bit fluffier. He was hot now, not to say that he wasn’t attractive back then. He just isn’t quite so… soft and cute now.

Vernon gave him the smallest of smiles and bowed slightly in greeting, to the best of his ability, as did Josh, and Seungkwan returned it. He held the door for the two of them as they squeezed through it side by side, and Vernon could feel pain every time his leg wobbled while he hopped along. Seungkwan moved ahead of them, leading them down the hall and to a room, where he began a routine checkup of Vernon, or at least the best he could. Upon writing down what he needed to, he looked up at him.

“The paper you filled out upon arriving, says sprained ankle?” Seungkwan’s voice was quiet and his eyes were still all big and brown and soft, just like Vernon remembered.

“Y-yes, at least that’s what we think it was…” Vernon could feel the same nerves he felt those six years ago, when he congratulated Seungkwan after a production that the drama had just finished. Seungkwan simply nodded and began inspecting his ankle, being very gentle with it, assuming Vernon was in some form of pain since he came to the ER in the middle of the night about it.

“How did it happen? Can you move it?” he asked, not looking up from the ankle, inspecting it for bruising and swelling, which it was slightly swollen, since the ice pack had run out of cold at least an hour ago, and there was some bruising.

“Well, I uhm…” Vernon could feel his face heating up, embarrassment taking hold of his conscious when he recalled the accident.

“He was trying to dance in the shower,” Joshua chimed in, clearly not caring if he had spared Vernon the humiliation. Josh was clearly very over the fact that he had to be the one who brought Vernon to the ER and was missing out on sleep.

“Y-yeah… I kinda fell… and hit a lot of things on a lot of other things… and my foot kinda stopped moving when it met the side of the tub, but the rest of my body kept moving…. Uh… yeah that’s about it…” Vernon couldn’t look at Seungkwan, his cheeks were currently the same color as a tomato, and he wanted to melt through the floorboards in that exact second.

Seungkwan simply nodded. “Must have been a good song if you were dancing to it in the shower. But note for the future, maybe don’t dance in the shower. That’s dangerous.”

“It was Hotline Bling. By Drake.” Joshua deadpanned, scrolling through his phone. Vernon _really_ wanted to hide now. That song had stopped being cool like three years ago. The fact that he was still dancing to that, _in the shower_ , of all places, was the most embarrassing thing he thinks he’s ever experienced.

Seungkwan simply nodded, still seemingly unamused. “Can you move it at all?”

“Not really… I can only slightly move it and it hurts like a bitc… a lot.”

“Perhaps we should get it x-rayed. To see if there’s a break or a hairline fracture. Wait here, I’ll see if we have a wheelchair so you don’t have to hop around.” Seungkwan promptly left the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Vernon whipped his head up to look at Joshua.

“Really?! You HAD to tell him it was _HOTLINE BLING_?!” his voice was full of incredulity.

“Why, are you embarrassed by the fact that you’re listening to a lame, outdated, meme-song, that isn’t even funny anymore?” Joshua gives him a look that is clearly unamused.

“N-no! Maybe…!”

“Oh, you must think that Mr. Doctor- Man is cute, is that it?” a smirk appears on Joshua’s face.

“What?! Don’t be ridiculous!” Vernon’s whole body stiffened and his face grew even more red.

“Well then why do you care what he thinks of your lame ass music taste? You tell Soonyoung and Chan and I to fuck off when we try and mock you.” Joshua’s tone is very matter-of-fact.

“That’s because you guys are supposed to accept the fact that I’m lame. Outsiders and strangers don’t have to do that.” Vernon protests. “Besides, I know this ‘Mr. Doctor Man’. We went to the same high school.”

“ _Ohh_ , so it’s just that you want him to think you got cool and that you’re not some lame ass kid still?”

“No! Jesus Christ, Jisoo...” Vernon’s head is in his hands, clearly annoyed with all the teasing that Joshua is doing. “Okay look, I had a crush on him when I was in school, okay? I never really spoke to him, and I’m just flustered because I never thought I’d see him again.”

“Well you’re a fucking klutz so here we are. You’re seeing him again.” Joshua’s smirk is triumphant now.

“Shut up, Josh.” Vernon mumbles half-heartedly.

“So, you’re sure you don’t think he’s hot? Cause I mean I think he’s pretty cute…” Joshua’s tone is all sing-song, like teasing Vernon is fun for him. ‘ _Which it probably is_ ,’ Vernon thinks to himself.

“Alright fine, he’s good looking, I’ll admit it!” Vernon exclaims, clearly exasperated with the whole ordeal. Unfortunately for him, that’s the exact moment that Seungkwan appears in the doorway with the wheelchair for him. His expression is slightly confused, as though he’s wondering what he walked in on. Vernon’s face is all red again, and he decides then and there that he needs to be much less awkward around Seungkwan.

“Here. Get in this and follow me,” Seungkwan instructs. Vernon does as he is told, and is led out of the room, Joshua begrudgingly pushing him down the hallways and soon they’re in a different part of the hospital. He’s led to the x- ray room, where someone takes care of him and gets him settled for the x- ray. It’s all over in a short blur, since Vernon is exhausted and in pain, and extremely flustered. He’s wheeled back to the room while they wait for the x-rays to transfer and be printed.

“Here are insurance forms, you can start filling them out now, while you wait.” Seungkwan hands him a small packet of papers, and turns to the computer in the room and starts inputting things in the computer.

“So, Vernon here says he knows you,” Joshua says, and he pretends like it’s the most nonchalant thing in the world. Vernon is pretty sure this is more embarrassing than when his mother would say embarrassing things when he brought the first boy he ever liked home to work on a project after school when he was fourteen. He shoots a death glare at Joshua, and then quickly pretends he’s filling out the forms. “He said he recognized you from when you guys went to school together? Or something like that.”

Seungkwan looks up from his typing at that and turns to look at Vernon, his gaze almost scrutinizing. “Hmm… I thought your name was familiar. We had drama together, didn’t we?” Vernon felt like he was going to have a heart attack. Luckily, they were in a hospital, so if he dropped dead this would be the best place to do so.

“Uhm, yeah…. You’re Boo Seungkwan, right?” Vernon glances up at him, and meets his soft, chocolate-colored eyes. The doctor nods at him.

“That’s me. You mostly worked as a stage hand, if I remember correctly. You look much different now.” His voice is just as soft as his eyes, and Vernon’s heart feels just as soft.

“Uh yeah… My acting was… I was a terrible actor.” Vernon is stumbling over his words. Seungkwan laughs breathily, one of those letting a puff of air out through his nose, kind of laughs.

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.” He reassures.

“Says the guy who had the lead role,” Vernon chuckles. “No, I was terrible. I’m too awkward.” Seungkwan simply shrugs in response.

“How are those forms coming along?” he asks, as though he doesn’t want to discuss the whole acting thing anymore.

“Uh….” Vernon looks down at the forms, which are totally blank still, and he really doesn’t know what he’s reading. “They’re not coming… at all. I have no clue what I’m reading.”  
“Alright, so…” Seungkwan moves across the room to look at the paper. “Sign these, and initial these spots… and then it’s just your insurance company and your name and address for billing. The reading is mostly agreeing to give us permission to charge to your insurance and agreeing to the fact that insurance may not cover all of the bills and stuff.” Vernon nods, but inside his heart is racing a mile a minute at the fact that Seungkwan is so close to him, to be able to read the forms. He’s panicking inside, feelings from high school rushing back and filling his being. _Where is this coming from, Hansol_? Vernon is internally yelling at himself for whatever these feelings are.

“Okay… Thanks for the help.” Vernon offers a small, nervous smile. This time, when he looks down at the paperwork, he _actually_ starts filling it out, instead of pretending to do so. A silence filled the room as he does so, aside from the clacking of Seungkwan’s fingers on the keyboard of the computer in the room, and Joshua’s occasional angry sigh at whatever game he was playing on his phone. The whole room felt awkward. Vernon clears his throat, as though he’s about to say something, when Seungkwan begins speaking.  
“The x-rays are in the computer, but we’ll have to wait for the pictures to develop because it’s a bit hard to view things,” he begins. “They should be done in the next five minutes or so, I’ll just have to go get them.”

Vernon simply nods in response, feeling like he needs to say something, less doctor-related to Seungkwan, he’s just not sure what. So, he just decides to stay silent. Seungkwan leaves after a few minutes to go and take care of the x-rays and Joshua is the one clearing his throat this time.

“Ask for his number.”

“Excuse me?!” Vernon’s head whips up to look at his friend in shock. “No!”

“Yes. You’re boring and lonely and you need to stop being so lame. Don’t even deny it. Outside of Soonyoung, Chan, and I, you talk to no one. You come home from work, and re-watch episodes of New Girl, or you read whatever book you picked up at the library the previous Saturday. You won’t come to any parties that Chan or I invite you to, and you’re scared to meet new people.” Joshua looks at him, almost like he’s pitying him.

“Oh hush, Josh. I enjoy my life as a hermit, and I’m doing just fine on my own. I take myself out to ice cream every Saturday, and I like being single.” Vernon states, with as much confidence as he can muster considering how much humiliation he’s experienced in the last hour.

“Tell that to the last virus on your laptop that you had to get Chan to fix for you. We did some snooping. Your google search history is no better.” Joshua pretends like he’s looking at dirty under his nails, clearly feeling particularly sassy.

“Okay, sorry I work most afternoons and nights-”

“At a pizza shop on the other side of town.”

“Again, my point stands. I work Friday and Saturday nights until like ten, when you guys are out partying. So, you can’t bitch about that.”

“Come over after work. Parties go ‘til like two in the morning, Vernon. Or come to the bar with us on Thursdays. It’s wing night! You could meet some hot guy at the bar. Thursday is your day off, right?”

“Tuesdays and Sundays, thank you very much. And I don’t like drinking. And I don’t have the confidence to pick up guys if I’m not drunk!” Vernon whines.

“You’re just further proving my point, Vernon,” Joshua sighs. “You’re perpetually single. And Seungkwan is hot, and you like him, _and_ you already kind of know him. It’s not that hard to ask for a guy’s number.”

Apparently, Vernon thinks, Seungkwan is the best at walking in at the worst times, because he comes back into the room at that exact moment. “The x-rays are all printed, here they are to look at…” He begins pinning them to the light board, and then points to the one picture. “If you look here, you can see a small break, luckily it’s not all the way through the bone. It’s just a hairline fracture. You will, however need to wear a boot for a few weeks at least, and your doctor will be notified of the injury, so you can go in and they can clear you. You’ll also need physical therapy, to be able to use it properly again. We’ll go get you a boot and a list of physical therapists, and we can get you some crutches to use for the first few days, where you won’t be able to walk on it.”

“Great…” Vernon sighs at that news, not enjoying the idea of having to work the front desk at work, and deal so much with customers. Vernon can’t deny the fact that he’s an introvert. He is awful at dealing with people. “Guess I’ll have to talk to Jun about staying out of the kitchen….”

“Oh. Are you a chef?” Seungkwan asks, busy scribbling stuff on his papers.

“Uh… Not exactly…” Vernon scratches the back of his neck. “I work in a pizza shop…” He can feel his face heating up again. _Way to embarrass yourself, Hansol. Tell the cute, successful doctor that you don’t have your shit together._ Vernon internally kicks himself for throwing himself under the bus. Now he couldn’t blame Joshua for doing it.

“Oh. Interesting.” Seungkwan nods. “Are you done with the forms? I can take them.”

“Hmm? Oh, right. Yeah that’s done, I think. I’m pretty sure I did it right.” Vernon holds the papers out for Seungkwan to take, and upon receiving them, he glances through them.

“Yep, they’re all filled out. I’ll go find you the boot and the crutches.” Seungkwan nods and disappears from the room again.

“Seriously, Vernon. Do it. Ask for his number.” Joshua presses the subject further.

“Alright, alright! Fine! I’ll ask for his damn number…” Vernon sighs, not liking this idea. Anything, and everything, could- and probably will- go wrong with this.

Seungkwan could get offended: ‘Why is this lame, dancing-in-the-shower, doesn’t-have-his-shit-together, clumsy pizza guy asking for my number?’  
Or he could get mad: ‘This guy didn’t even speak to me in high school and suddenly now he wants to get close with me? I don’t think so!’  
Or, even worse, he could be _straight_. ‘I don’t like men, sorry.’  
But, if he is gay, he could have a boyfriend. Or a fiancé, or a husband, even.

Vernon feels hopeless. “No, you know what? That’s a bad idea, Joshua.”

“Sure it is, Vernon. What could possibly go wrong?” Joshua looks annoyed again, mostly like he’s done with Vernon’s shit.

“Everything! He could get mad, or offended, or embarrassed! He could be straight! Or he could be gay and already be committed to someone!” Vernon’s tone rises a bit, clearly a bit panicked.

“Just ask for his number, Vernon. It’s not like you’ll ever see him again, if he rejects you. And that being said, the worst he can do is reject you.”

Seungkwan reappears in the doorway, again at an inconvenient time in the conversation, and walks over to Vernon to start putting the boot on him. Vernon opens his mouth to ask, but Seungkwan just shakes his head. “I’m not giving you my number. That’s unprofessional. I’m at work.” His tone is flat and he’s quiet as usual, but it’s not angry. Nor is it offended or disappointed. It’s just factual, as per his usual tone.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Vernon is even clumsier with the boot. He’s constantly knocking it into things, and tipping things over, and crutches are no help- they get tangled in chair and table legs, and he is awful at trying to use them. He has no sense of balance and constantly finds himself falling over and stumbling to gain his footing. Which is why, on Wednesday, after three weeks with the boot, he’s not surprised when he winds up back in the hospital, this time with a broken nose. Chan is not amused that he was voted to bring Vernon to the hospital this time around.

It's only 6 pm, but the doctor’s office is closed for the evening, and Vernon looks like hell. The wait is much shorter now, for one reason or another, and a very fresh-faced Seungkwan appears in the doorway, calling Vernon’s last name again, and looking confused when he sees the boy standing up before him, once again.

“Oh… Hello…” Seungkwan bows politely, and Vernon finds himself doing the same as well. Can his life be any more awkward? They go through the same routine again, Seungkwan going through the routine checks of his patient, and then asking about the injury.

“I’m pretty sure my nose is broken. It’s crooked and it bled for pretty much forever,” Vernon shivered, as that part of the evening came back to him. “Not to mention the fact that my eyes are both black…” Vernon mumbles, hoping to get through this much quicker, especially after the awkward moment he had with Seungkwan last time.

“And how did that happen?” Seungkwan hasn’t looked up from his forms since Vernon arrived here, other than when he was going through the checkup, and the inspection of the injury.

“The boot… it caught on the step when I was coming up from the laundry room, and I faceplanted into the stairs… I fell… up the stairs…” Vernon can feel his face heating up with embarrassment again. Chan snorts at that response, clearly finding Vernon’s pain funny.

“I see…” Seungkwan nods. “Yes, it appears to be broken. Just ice it regularly. Here are your insurance forms.”

“It doesn’t need to be set?” Vernon was genuinely confused about this, since that’s what they did when he was younger and broke it the first time.

“No, noses typically heal themselves. Although we should perhaps check you out for a concussion before we let you go, just to be sure.” Seungkwan finally sets the papers he was working on down, and goes through with the typical routine when checking for a concussion. Vernon can’t help his heart which is racing again and the proximity of Seungkwan.  
“Well, you’re concussion free.” he says, after they go through the routine, and then he turns immediately back to his papers. “Here are your insurance forms.” Seungkwan hands them over and Vernon feels the need to say something again.

“So… coincidence that I caught you again…?” Vernon tries, hoping to spark conversation.

“Yep. My shift starts at 6. And I work until 6 the next morning.” Seungkwan’s tone is brisk, and he seems as though he doesn’t particularly want to speak to Vernon.

“Look, about last time-”

“Hansol, is it? I don’t want to discuss it. It was stupid. Are you almost done with those forms?”

“I- oh… uh, no… I’ll finish those. I guess…” Vernon gets through the form and then Seungkwan nods. Vernon feels humiliated. He really thought it was stupid? God, Vernon is helpless.

“Thank you. Please be more careful. I’d rather not see you at work again.” Seungkwan’s tone is soft, and he’s quiet again.

 _‘I’d rather not see you at work again.’_   What the hell was that supposed to mean? Hansol’s head swims, with context and meaning behind these words. He had only been rejected by the doctor because he had said it was unprofessional to get a patient’s number, at least while he was on shift.

“So, by saying he didn’t want to see me at work again, do you think that means he was still… talking about the previous incident?” Vernon asks Joshua when he arrives home, laying on his back on the couch with that same old ice pack on his face.

“You mean like… Salty about it?” Joshua asks, not looking up from the latest issue of _Seventeen_ magazine.

“I- maybe… kinda… or do you think he meant that he wanted my number? And that he didn’t want to see me at work again because then if he saw me again outside of work, he could actually accept my request?” Vernon’s head is swimming with the thought, and his heart keeps fluttering with excitement at this possibility.

“That, or he was just telling you to stop being so goddamn clumsy and not wind up back in the ER again. Cause you’re starting to feel problematic, and slightly hazardous,” Chan says, and Vernon’s heart drops. He hadn’t thought of that. Vernon _is_ a klutz, and it only seems obvious that a _doctor_ of all people would tell him to be more careful.

“Way to be a buzzkill, Chan! He was worrying about something his crush said to him. Vernon likes Doctor Boo! Let him worry excessively about what the man said to him!” Joshua swats Chan’s arm.

“No, he’s right, Josh… Seungkwan was probably just telling me to be more cautious…” Vernon sighs  
.  
“Look, now you’ve upset him,” Joshua scolds, glaring at Chan. “Lee Chan, crushing people’s hopes and dreams since ’99… Hey, Vernon I have a great idea! They have like a craft night at the library on Tuesday nights! You and I should go, and maybe you can make a few new friends, eh?” Josh nudges Vernon’s arm with his elbow gently. Vernon groans.

“Crafts? Something that requires artistic ability that I don’t have? _And_ meeting new people? Ugh, sounds like hell to me.”

“Just go, Hansol. You have nothing better to do anyways. And your ankle is broken, not your arm. It’s not like crafts are that hard.” Chan says, glancing up from whatever computer he’s fiddling with.

“Alright fine I’ll go. What could go wrong?”

\- - - - - - - - -

Saturday rolls around, the Saturday before this dreaded craft night, and Vernon makes his usual trip to the library, to return his old book, and search for a new one. Only this Saturday is different. He has to sign up for this awful craft thing. And this time, he rolls up with crutches, the damn boot on his foot, and two black eyes and a crooked, cut up nose. He looks like a thug.

He slips his return book into the slot and starts hobbling around to the sign-up sheet on the other end of the sleek, mahogany, library desk before him, and nearly trips and falls into someone. “OH! I’m so sorry…!” Vernon does his best to bow, feeling panicked since he stumbled into a stranger.

“That’s alright… Are you okay? You look… Rough?” The stranger asks. He’s tall- like really tall- and his face is rather angular. He had a thin line of eyeliner around his eyes and he had on a black _Ramones_ t-shirt.

“You think this is bad, you should see the other guy…” Vernon chuckles, averting his eyes, hoping to lighten the mood. To his surprise, the guy in front of him laughs a little, and his nose scrunches up a bit.

“Good one. I’ve heard it a time or two, but most people don’t get to use the line. It fits here, pretty well, too.”

“Thanks…? Sorry I’m awkward.”

“Well, hi Awkward, I’m Wonwoo.” The stranger laughs. Vernon finds himself chuckling too.

“No, I’m Hansol… Vernon? Whichever you feel like calling me, I guess.” Vernon chuckles a bit more.

“Nice to meet you, Hansol. You signing up for craft night? I usually bring my boyfriend and a friend or two.”

“Yeah, my friend kinda roped me into going with him. He says I need to ‘get out more.’ I don’t know what he’s talking about, I mean, I enjoy reading my books and re-watching the same show for the sixth time in the last eight months.”

Wonwoo laughs some more. “That’s what my boyfriend tells me too. I don’t enjoy… talking to new people, often. But seriously, what _did_ happen to you? You look like you got in a fight with a freight train.”

“Gee, thanks, Wonwoo.” Vernon finds himself explaining every detail of the incident of the shower and then how he tripped up the stairs because of it. They chat for a while, and discuss books as well, when Vernon is asked about why he’s at the library signing up for the craft night. Wonwoo gives out a few book recommendations and Vernon nods, assuring him that he’ll have to check them out sometime.

He and Wonwoo chat a while over books, and Vernon sees that it’s now almost 2 in the afternoon and that he should be heading home to get ready for his Saturday shift at the pizza shop. He says his goodbye to Wonwoo, and leaves it at ‘see you on Tuesday, yeah?’ and that’s the end of his time at the library.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Vernon’s shift passes without much event, until about 7, when things are in full swing, and none other than Boo Seungkwan walks in the front doors. Vernon nearly chokes on nothing, trying to finish the call he’s on and make sure he’s gotten everything in their order. God, did Vernon hate working the front desk. He manages to get everything into the register that the person is ordering, and gives them the total, before sending the receipt with the order on it to the back, so those cooking could take care of it all. Vernon dreads the second he’s going to have to turn back around at the desk and meet the eyes of Seungkwan. Lucky for him, that’s the exact second the phone rings for another call, and he quickly picks up, relieved that he can put off taking care of Seungkwan’s order. This order goes through pretty quickly, though, to Vernon’s disappointment, and he turns to look at Seungkwan after he sends the order to the kitchen.

“Hello, welcome to Onomatopizza. How can I help you?” Vernon avoids eye contact at all costs.

“Vernon. You work at this pizza place?” Seungkwan looks almost shocked. “I come here all the time. How have I not seen… oh that’s right. You worked in the kitchens, didn’t you?”

Vernon is shocked, first of all, that Seungkwan remembers him saying that, and secondly, he’s shocked because Seungkwan comes here all the time. “Yeah… What’ll you have?” Vernon feels awkward as hell.

“I’ll take four slices, an order of garlic bread, a dozen mild wings, and… yeah I think that’s it.” Seungkwan looks at the menu above Vernon’s head, and nods with more assurance. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“Okay. What would you like on those slices?” Vernon starts punching things into the computer.

“Just cheese and pepperoni, please.

“Alright. Your total is $24.37.” Vernon hits print on the receipt, and looks up to Seungkwan, who’s pulling out the cash, and hands him 25 bucks. Vernon sticks it in the right slots in the cash register, and then hands him the correct change and one copy of his receipt, and the other gets sent to the kitchen. “Your wings and garlic bread will be done in about ten minutes.”

“Okay. Thank you…” Seungkwan steps to the side and drops a twenty and the rest of his change in the tip jar. Vernon raises his eyebrows at that, yet again, shocked. Do doctors really make that kind of money?

“So, how is your nose…?” Seungkwan tries, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I can breathe out of it now, and the swelling has gone down. Still hurts like hell, though.” Vernon says quietly, praying that the phone will ring, or someone else will walk in, and save him from whatever humiliation he could experience, as well as saving him from the awkwardness of having to talk to the guy who rejected him a mere few weeks before.

“That’s good.” Seungkwan nods, and it’s clear things are still pretty awkward between them.

“So, you have Saturdays off…? Just- you said about working from 6 to 6 and it’s almost 8 now…” Vernon scratches the back of his neck, nervously.

“Oh, yeah… Fridays I have 18 hour shifts… 6 in the evening until noon on Saturdays. And then I spend most of Saturday and Sunday sleeping.” Seungkwan chuckles. Vernon nods.

“Long hours. Sounds… dreadful. I get six hours at most in a day. I’m pretty broke.” Vernon sighs.

Seungkwan nods. “Yeah, it can be tiring. Why’d you join… pizza?” he asks. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Uh… Well, I have no idea what I really want to do. I made it through college with a liberal arts degree… And have no idea what to do with it.” Vernon shrugs. “I’m not really good at anything…”

“Oh. Sometimes it takes people longer to figure it out. It’s alright.” Seungkwan nods, and Vernon can’t help but feel that he’s being pitied. He’s slightly annoyed with that feeling, because he really wishes more than anything that Seungkwan isn’t one of those people that has their shit together and looks down on those who don’t.

A rather cold ‘yeah’ is all Vernon can muster, and lucky for him the phone rings at that second and he turns to answer the call, quickly putting the order into the register and totaling up the items. He runs back through it all, as is routine, and when he’s sure it’s all correct, he gives them a time frame, and lets them know that it will be delivered. A small group walks in, and it looks like Vernon won’t be participating in anymore small talk with Seungkwan. Vernon begins taking all their orders, they seem to be a group, and it takes all of five minutes, and in said five minutes, Seungkwan receives what he ordered and heads out, leaving Vernon with a small wave. Vernon can’t help but let out a sigh of relief, and continue his work. The rest of the night is uneventful for him.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Tuesday finally arrives, to Vernon’s dismay, and Joshua practically drags him inside the library. Joshua picks a table for the two of them, and is furiously typing away on his phone, probably texting the two friends that are supposed to meet him there. Vernon looks around at the people. Some of them are middle-aged women, who would have three kids, a minivan, and drive their kids to soccer. Others are teenagers who look like the ‘artsy’ type, or the ones who don’t typically have anything to do in the summertime. There are a few people around his age, but in comparison to the rest of the group it’s a small portion. The bell over the door to the outside of the library chimes, and Vernon looks over to see Wonwoo and another guy who is even taller than him, with hair that’s a dark brown-ish red color. He’s pretty good looking, but not really Vernon’s type.

Vernon waves at Wonwoo, who notices him and smiles, waving back. He says something to the other guy, the one who Vernon can only assume to be Wonwoo’s boyfriend, and points at Vernon. They start walking over, and Joshua swats Vernon’s arm.

“You have friends?! Since when?! Why didn’t you tell me! You’ve been holding out on me.” Joshua feigns offense, and then looks up at the two who joined the table.

“Hey Vernon!” Wonwoo smiles at Vernon.

“Hi! Wonwoo, this is my roommate, and unfortunately, my best friend, Joshua. Joshua, this is Wonwoo, I met him here this past Saturday.” Vernon gestures between the two of them, and they exchange polite bows, in greeting, and then Wonwoo gestures to the guy next to him.

“Well, this is my boyfriend, Mingyu.” He smiles the softest smile, and Mingyu waves a bit.

“Hello,” he says, a smile brightening his face. The two of them sit down at the table with him, and they all settle into a ‘getting to know someone’ chat. Vernon learns that Wonwoo owns a record shop, and Mingyu is a model for some big clothing company, and they’ve been together for almost two years now. They are quite the cute couple, and they seem happy together. The bell above the door chimes again and in walks someone that Vernon recognizes, but can’t remember his name. He knows the guy is a friend of Joshua’s but he’s never met him.

“Ah! Jeonghan. Hi! This is Vernon, my roomie, and his friends, Wonwoo and Mingyu.” Joshua stands to greet him, and Joshua waves a little.

“Hello. I’m Jeonghan.” Everyone greets him, and they chat some more. A few of Mingyu and Wonwoo’s friends arrive, someone named Jihoon, whose height, in comparison to that of Mingyu and Wonwoo, is laughable, but Vernon wouldn’t dare laugh at him. He’s not the most… sunshine-y person, at least he doesn’t appear to be so. But it’s understandable. He teaches music to children for a career, so he probably has to smile all the time. Soonyoung shows up, much to Vernon’s surprise, since he’s apparently a mutual friend of both groups. He brings his new boyfriend, Seokmin, who’s funny and a tad bit loud. The crafting goes terribly, at least on Vernon’s part, and he feels like a mess. He’s not even sure what he’s supposed to be making, but he’s getting hot glue everywhere.

“Dude, you need to be more careful with that. You’re going to burn yourself and I’m not taking you to the emergency room again.” Josh warns.

“Not even to see his hot doctor boyfriend?” Soonyoung teases. Vernon whips his head up to look at him.

“Who told you about Seungkwan?” Vernon’s eyes are wide, with confusion and shock. Except he’s pretty sure he knows exactly who told Soonyoung. His gaze shifts to Joshua, and his eyes narrow with anger. “You told him?! What the fuck, Josh! You’re worse than my mother!”

“Seungkwan? Like Boo Seungkwan? He’s my neighbor… I didn’t realize he was dating anybody…” Mingyu says, kind of wondering aloud.

“He’s not- or at least not me, anyways.” Vernon lets his forehead rest on the table, in overexaggerated agony.

“Basically, Vernon had a big ass crush on Seungkwan in high school, and now they’ve met six years later, because we had to take Vernon to the ER since he’s a total klutz and he decided he was going to dance in the shower, and he broke his damn ankle. And upon seeing Seungkwan again, he got all warm and fuzzy inside, and now he’s pining after him again. Even broke his nose so he could go back to the ER to see him.” Joshua laughs.

“Oh, fuck off, Josh! I broke my nose because of this god forsaken ankle boot I have to wear and I didn’t know he was working at that time, so it was a whole goddamn coincidence that he took care of me again!” Vernon is infuriated with his friend. Josh doesn’t seem to know when to stop trying to embarrass Vernon.

“But notice how he didn’t deny to liking him again!” Joshua’s voice is all sing song again, like he gets his greatest pleasure in life from mocking Vernon.

“I do not like- AH SHIT!” Vernon, yelps, looking down at his poor fingers, which the hot glue gun he was holding had dripped on, and dropped the glue gun, which proceeded to fall directly into his lap, making him squeal, and jump from his chair and start hobbling away, only to trip on the cord to said hot glue gun, and fall, heading towards the floor. He manages to catch himself before he breaks his nose again, and groans when his wrist jars on the floor and finally he just lays there, trying to get the hot glue off his hands, but it’s burned through at least a few layers of his skin and is pretty stuck on him.

“Oh, Jesus Christ, not again, Vernon!” Joshua gets up and goes to help him up. “Are you okay?!”

“Ouch… no…” Vernon is groaning, of course his clumsy ass would have to embarrass himself in front of a bunch of people he only just met as well as what felt like half the city’s population. A few librarians came rushing over to check on him, as well, after the commotion that happened, and he waves them off, insisting he’ll be alright and promising not to sue them or anything. He sits up, and Joshua helps him up, but he feels a shooting pain in his wrist. ' _Hopefully it’s just sore from falling on it_ …' Vernon thinks to himself.

“I’m going to go wash my hands… try and get some of this glue off…” He mumbles, feeling more humiliated than he did before.

“I’ll help you to the bathroom, yeah? I’d rather not have you trip and fall over anything else…” Joshua sighs, and helps Vernon to the bathroom.

“This, is exactly why I don’t go to these things. And this is why I don’t meet new people, because I know me, I will, without fail, _always_ manage to make a goddamn fool out of myself…” Vernon mutters angrily, but it’s not exactly sharp, like the typical angry tone, it’s more upset, and disappointed.

“Vernon, it’s okay…” Joshua tries to reassure him.

“No, it’s not, Josh. You’re right. I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life because I’m a goddamn klutz. I cannot go anywhere without making a fool of myself because I’m as graceful as a blind, one-legged duck with a wonky left wing. I can’t just be a normal person. And now I’m almost 100 percent sure that every person sitting at that table other than you and Soonyoung are probably kinda freaked out by the damage I could do. I am _literally_ a walking tornado. I break everything I touch.” Vernon whispers, feeling a lot like crying. A man can only handle so much embarrassment before he breaks.

“C’mon, don’t be like that, Vernon. It’ll be a great story for them all to talk about with you when you’re all in the same nursing home in 75 years.” Josh says, trying to cheer him up. “Except me. I’ll never grow old. I’m a goddess.” His attempt to stir up some laughter doesn’t work.

“If I even make it that far without doing something stupid to get myself killed,” Vernon mutters. He reaches out for the door of the bathroom and pushes on it, but there’s that pain again. “Ouch…” He cradles the hand to his chest.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” Joshua looks at him, worried.

“Other than the fact that I burnt the crap out of my fingers? I used it to catch myself from falling on my already broken nose and I think I just jarred it. I’ll be alright, I think. It’s probably just sore.” Vernon says.

“Are you sure you don’t want to get it checked out?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll just ice it when I get home and it should be alright.” With that, Vernon disappears into the bathroom to quickly run his burns under cold water, and try to get the larger pieces of glue off his hands. His wrist throbs the whole time.

\- - - - - - - - - -

Luckily, after Vernon returned to the table, nobody said anything about it, other than asking him if he was okay. Nobody laughed at him. Nobody tried to make a joke about it. Vernon is pretty sure that Joshua said something to them to keep hushed about it, but Vernon wasn’t going to ask. He left after another 20 minutes, with his mangled piece of glue and wood and paint, that was supposed to be a bird house, and Wonwoo’s contact in his phone. The two of them had begun discussing books again, and Wonwoo had offered for Vernon to join the book club he was in. Vernon happily agreed, although he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to try something new again.

Upon arriving home with Joshua, he went straight to the freezer and grabbed out the squishy ice pack, which was beginning to look haggard, as of late. He put on some pajamas and then laid on the couch and was about to put on an episode of his favorite show, when Chan snatched the remote from his hands and put on something different.

“Tonight, we watch _my_ show. I’m sick of watching New Girl. I can probably reenact every episode word for word, at this point.” Chan says, beginning to flip through the Netflix options until he found the show he was looking for.

“Strong Woman Bong-Soon?” Vernon asks. “Really? More K-dramas?”

“It’s good! It’s my favorite. What’s up with your wrist?”

“I fell on it. That’s all.”

“Is it sprained?”

“I hope not. I’m not going back to the emergency room. Especially not for a sprained wrist.” Vernon was not going to chance seeing Seungkwan again. He wanted nothing to do with the boy, in fact he was hoping that he’d never have to see Seungkwan again, just to spare himself the feelings. He had no chance with the other, not with how he scared people off with his clumsiness. Vernon was mad at himself. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to dance in the shower? Then he cursed the boot, for having to see Seungkwan a second time. And then himself again, for not knowing what to do with his life. Then he wouldn’t have had to see Seungkwan at the pizza shop.

“You sure?” Chan asks, eyebrows raised.

“I’m fine, Chan. I’m getting some snacks.” Vernon gets up and rolls off the couch, and heads for the kitchen. He grabs an apple from the bowl and brings out a cutting board, to slice it. He figured Chan would probably whine about how he wanted an apple too, so he figured he would just cut it up and make it shareable.

Unfortunately for Vernon, cutting the apple would prove difficult, since Vernon’s right hand was the one that attached to the sprained wrist. But Vernon was a man of means, especially since Joshua was in the shower and Chan was too engrossed in his show to care. He began, as carefully as he could, slicing the apple with his left hand. His right hand gripped the apple as best as it could, and Vernon ignored the pain it was causing him.

That’s when it all went wrong. Someone knocked on the door, Vernon jumped about a foot in the air, and the knife slipped off the apple and stuck itself in his thumb. Vernon just screamed. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was blood. It oozed around the tip of the knife and Vernon felt like fainting.

Chan dashed into the room, yelling for Vernon, asking what was happening, and then Joshua came running into the room, clad in just a towel, and his hair full of shampoo suds, and whoever was knocking on the door knocked again. Vernon could only point at the knife that was stuck in his thumb, and make incoherent words. He felt dizzy, every time he looked at it.

“What the fuck, Vernon?!” Joshua runs over to inspect it, and Chan answers the door, revealing Soonyoung, holding Josh’s sweatshirt.

“What on earth is he screaming about?” Soonyoung asks, and then he notices the knife protruding from Vernon’s appendage. His face pales. “Oh good god… I’ll let you attend to that… Josh your sweatshirt is here. Good luck.”

“Chan, get him to the car now. I’ll go rinse my hair and get dressed. DO NOT pull it out, okay? That’s just gonna make everything messier and its just gonna get worse!” Joshua scrambles for the bathroom and the sound of the bathroom sink turning on meets Vernon’s ears. Chan grabs a towel from the kitchen drawer and does his best to cover the thumb and go around the kitchen utensil.

Swiftly, the three of them make their way to the ER for the third time in two months, and they are moved up a bit further on the waiting list, since there’s blood involved. Vernon feels queasy. “Can’t we just go to a different hospital?” He whines.

“This one is closest, Vernon. Deal with it.” Chan mumbles.

Joshua is practically mothering Vernon, checking on the wound every few minutes and as gently as he can, he dabs the towel on it. They wait for a matter of fifteen minutes before someone is calling his name from the doorway, and yet again, it’s that soft, high toned voice, that belongs to Boo Seungkwan. This time, though, he seems a bit rushed, and his eyes are a bit wide with worry. Joshua and Chan both help stabilize Vernon as he hobbles over to the door that Seungkwan stands in.

“Oh my god, Hansol…” Seungkwan sighs. “What did you do this time?” He asks, guiding Vernon to the room.

“Cutting an apple… Soonyoung knocked on the door… I got scared and now-” Vernon has to stop himself there before he thinks about the fact that he’s bleeding again.

“You’re left handed?” He notes the fact that the knife is in his right hand.

“No… I sprained my wrist earlier and so I tried to operate a sharp, kitchen utensil with my non-dominant hand. I know. It was stupid. I won’t do it again. Just please, whatever you do, make it stop bleeding…. I hate blood…” Vernon winces at the thought.

“Alright. We’ll go through the whole check-up thing after I get it out and patched up.” Seungkwan starts unraveling the towel around his thumb, and inspects it. Vernon looks away, with a chill, and starts to feel nauseous. Seungkwan sets Vernon’s hand down gently and turns to get something out, something Vernon can’t see. He hears a package opening and something pricks the spot near the wound. After a minute or two his thumb gets all tingly and then goes numb, and Vernon looks down to make sure he actually as a thumb and then whimpers as Seungkwan pulls the knife from his finger- not because he can feel it and it hurts, but because he saw a lot more blood than he wanted to.

“Just breathe, okay? Deep breaths. Relax, or you’ll bleed more, okay? Just take a deep breath. Breathe in and count to four, and out until four. In… Out…” Vernon does as he’s told, and he can’t help but find Seungkwan’s voice soothing. He calms quickly, but the procedure itself is over just as quickly. “Alright good job. I cleaned it and you have three stitches, which you will have to get taken out by your doctor in two weeks. We will notify them of that. I also noticed some burns on your other hand…? And what’s this about a sprained wrist?” Seungkwan’s voice gets more tired at the sound of that, like he’s sick of seeing Vernon here. Vernon, whose heart was racing a mile a minute at Seungkwan’s touch-regardless of the fact that he actually realized this fact until after the matter- drops through the floor at this thought. Vernon was beginning to feel like a burden.

“Uhm… Yeah, I- I went to some craft night, because Joshua wanted me to meet new people… Josh started teasing me about how… clumsy I am, and I got hot glue on my hand, and then I dropped the glue gun in my lap and then I stood up and tried to move away from it only to fall. I didn’t break my nose again, though, so that’s a plus…” Vernon is quiet now, and he won’t look up at Seungkwan.

“Jeez Louise, you are the clumsiest person I think I know. If I give you my number will you stop showing up in my office?” Seungkwan’s voice warms a bit, and Vernon whips his head up to look at him. He sees Seungkwan smiling just a little.

“W-wait, what?” Vernon raises, and his eyes brighten. “You mean it?”

“Well, I mean… if I were to perhaps… Visit the pizza shop tomorrow before the time of…?” Seungkwan pauses, looking to Vernon.

“4.” Vernon rushes to get the time that he starts out.

“…4, then perhaps I’ll catch a certain…. pizza boy before he’s at work, and perhaps I’ll consider giving him my number?” Seungkwan’s face is the color of a fire truck, and Vernon is pretty sure his face is the same color.

“Y-yeah…. You might catch him there at around… 3:45…” Vernon plays along with it.

“Sounds good. Now, about this sprain…”

\- - - - - - - - - -  
Vernon is _freaking out_. “WHERE IS MY WORK SHIRT?!” He shouts, digging through the clean laundry that Joshua brought up yesterday after they got home from the ER for the third time.

“Vernon, dude. You already took it out. It’s laying on your bed.” Joshua states, watching Vernon’s panic from the doorway. “What is your deal?”

“Why is it wrinkled?! Oh god I’m going to look like a slob…!” Vernon frantically tries smoothing it out with his hands and then lets out a huff of frustration when it’s ineffective, before he tugs it on, struggling to get the red polo over his head. “WHY WON’T IT GO ON?!”

“Because you need to unbutton the top two buttons to get it over your head, stupid. Stop moving before you hurt yourself more or something.” Joshua moves across the room to undo the buttons around the collar of the shirt, where the very top of Vernon’s hair can be seen, and then it slips over his head with ease.

“Great now my hair is a mess…!” Vernon scrambles to the bathroom to try and tame the mop of hair on his head, trying to smooth it out, but to no avail.

“Why are you doing your hair when it’s going to frizz up again at work? It’s hot in the pizza shop.” Chan states, shaking his head at the mess that is Vernon.

“Because! Seungkwan has only seen me when I’m injured or a mess or something! I want to impress him, not that I’d expect you to know that, Mr. I-Wear-Graphic-Tees-To-Everything-No-Matter-What-The-Occasion-Is. You haven’t gone shopping for real clothes in the whole time I’ve had you as a roommate!” Vernon exclaims, tugging at his hair in frustration.

“Dude, relax. If Seungkwan has seen you with a broken ankle and a knife stuck in your hand, and he still wants your number, he isn’t going to give a crap about what your hair looks like when you go to work. Chill.” Chan states, before walking over and spraying his hair so it’s wet and then grabs some of Josh’s hair gel and tames it a bit, and even gives him a little bit of style to his hair. “Better?”

“Y-yes…” Vernon glances in the mirror, deciding it’s acceptable now that it’s been tamed, and then turns back to Chan. “Thanks… Sorry about… That.”

“It’s fine. You’re not wrong. But when you work as a game developer, with a group of people who wear the exact same thing as you, you don’t care what you wear. So you’re right, about the graphic tee thing.” He shrugs, and then pats Vernon’s shoulder. “Good luck. You’re going to be late.”

Vernon yelps and scrambles for the door, and runs- or tries to- to Joshua’s car. “Josh quick!”

“Relax Vernon. It’s literally three blocks away, you could walk if your ankle didn’t have the boot. We’ll be there in two seconds.” Joshua pulls out of his usual parking spot and heads for the shop.

Upon arrival, Vernon almost falls out of the car, trying to make a dash for the front door of the shop to drop his sweatshirt and his wallet in his locker. He hobbles inside, greeting Seungcheol- one of his co-workers, who was constantly worried about the health and safety of Vernon, and went to school with Joshua. He’s the only reason that Vernon has this job, really. “What’s up with you? You look flustered.” Seungcheol asks. “And you’re here earlier than usual.”

“Long story… Is my hair okay?” Vernon looks at him, feeling frantic.

“Looks good to me. It’s different than usual. What’s the occasion?” MInghao, Vernon’s other co-worker, appears from around the back-hallway area, where the bathrooms are, with the cleaning supplies. Minghao is currently attending college still, for fashion. Something family-related happened and he couldn’t go to college straight out of high school, so now here he is, dealing with the mess that is Vernon and working in a tiny pizza shop.

“Again. Long story. I’ll tell you when I get back, yeah? But I have to go do something.” Vernon scrambles back outside and nearly runs into the person he was looking for. “Oh! Seungkwan…” Vernon scratches the back of his neck, a blush tinging his cheeks.

“Oh, Vernon! Fancy seeing you here…” Seungkwan smiles at him.

“Yeah, what a coincidence..." Vernon feels his heart racing again, and he feels that fuzzy feeling inside.

“So, how’s work?” Seungkwan tries to casually bring up the topic.

“Uh… I dunno, my shift doesn’t start for another….” Vernon glances down at his wrist, as if he has a watch. “Like ten minutes?”

“Oh, cool… So maybe I can get your number?” Seungkwan smiles. Vernon can’t help the grin that breaks out on his pink face.

“Y-yeah! That’s- Yes! Here-“ Vernon tugs his phone out of his back pocket with shaky hands, only to nearly drop it. God, you’re a mess, Chwe! Get it together!

“Careful! Wow, you really are pretty clumsy…” Seungkwan lets out a small laugh, and Vernon kicks himself inside. Except now that he thinks about it, with how clumsy he is, he would try to kick himself and fall and break an arm or something.

“Oh… Yeah…” Vernon can’t help feeling his mood fall a bit.

“It’s… kinda cute… I mean, not when you’re breaking limbs and sticking kitchen utensils through your appendages, but y’know… tripping and dropping stuff… and how flustered you get? It’s cute…” Seungkwan is blushing now too, looking like just as much of a mess as Vernon is. “You’re just… cute.”

Vernon suddenly feels like his heart is going to explode, his face turning a bright red. Boo Seungkwan thinks he’s cute? Vernon feels like he could jump over the moon. “Y-you think so…?”

“Yeah… So, uh… About your number.” Seungkwan seems to be pushing him in the right direction, as he pulls his own phone out of his pocket.

“Oh, right!” Vernon turns his phone on, only to see the time read 3:58 pm. A rush of panic overcomes him as that eight turns to a nine. He scrambles to find the contacts app in his phone, and then quickly hands it to Seungkwan, who seems to be struggling to find the app in his own phone.

“Sorry… I’m a bit disorganized. Oh! Here it is!” Seungkwan smiles at him, and Vernon’s head spins. That is the cutest face he has ever seen in his entire life.

“No problem…” Vernon accepts his phone and types his number into the new contact Seungkwan had pulled up for him. “Here you go.” Vernon beams and looks up from the phone at Seungkwan.

“Thanks.” Seungkwan smiles and then a silence, not one that’s necessarily awkward, but one that’s full of happiness and excitement, fills the air between them.

“OI! Vernon! Quit flirting with the customers before you scare them away!” Vernon whips his head towards the door of the pizza shop, to see his boss, Jun, sticking his head out the door and gesturing for him to get inside. “Your shift started two minutes ago. Let’s go.”

“Sorry, Jun! I’ll be in in a second!” Vernon turns to look at Seungkwan. He doesn’t want to leave Seungkwan’s presence. “Well… I’ll text you when I’m on break?”

“Sounds good. Bye, Hansol.” Seungkwan smiles at him, and kisses him on the cheek, and then hurries to his car.


End file.
